Problems with the alkalizing diet
Although I do think there is something to balancing the alkalinity and acidity in the body, I have some big problems with the alkaline diet as it is propagated today.
1. The accuracy of which foods are alkalizing and which foods are acidifying are debatable. Ten years ago, most charts showed that almost all fruits were acidifying to the body, today most charts show that most fruits are alkalizing. The charts we have today that are based on the PRAL (potential renal acid load) are based on actual numbers that can be verified. Where the charts that appeared online 10 years ago got there numbers is a mystery but we are assured that they came from 'scientists'.
2. A huge problem with various alkalizing diets and acid-alkaline charts (including PRAL) of foods is that it takes no consideration to the amount of calories that a certain food is providing. For example, various green leafy vegetables are found to be some of the most alkalizing foods but provide almost no calories. Foods that provide calories for fuel for the body while alkalizing at the same time should be considered much more valuable than foods that alkalize and provide little to no calories to the body. Even foods that have a neutral ph or a slightly acidic ph but provide fuel and nourishment to the body should be considered good foods for an alkalizing diet. As opposed to thinking in terms of acidic foods that provide building blocks for the body on one side and alkalizing foods that provide the alkalinity on the other side.
3. The percentages that are recommended to eat from each category (alkaline to acid) balance are meaningless. Most alkalizing diets recommend to eat 80% alkaline foods and 20% acidic foods. Out of whose a** were these numbers pulled? The truth of the matter is that every person is different and there are probably plenty of people that benefit from eating more acidic foods (there is tons of anecdotal evidence that this is the case). Me personally, I do feel better when my diet is on the alkaline side but what the percentage is depends on how I feel. For me, getting the proper amount of calories into my body is way more important than the acid-alkaline balance. Listening to your own body is the right way to do it.
4. The alkaline diet ignores the way that food is metabolized by the body. The easiest proof for this are the way fats and oils are metabolized. Fats and oils can vary somewhat but are generally somewhere in a neutral ph but when fats are used by the body for energy, they are extremely acidifying. The pungency and astringency of foods cannot be measured on the acid-alkaline scale. The pungency of a food is not a taste per se but actually a sensation of pain that is produced in the mouth and has many very noticeable physiological effects. According to Ayurveda, the pungency experienced on a physiological level would increase the production of acidity in the body and the astringency, through it's action of removing moisture would contribute to alkalinity. If you don't believe that pungency will increase acidity regardless of the net alkaline-acid constituents of a food, eat one whole garlic bulb (very alkalizing) and a heaping spoonful of cayenne pepper (alkalizing) and tell me the acidity in your body doesn't increase.
I'll leave it at that for now. There is certainly some benefit in being aware of the potential for acidification and alkalization from certain foods but as with all one-size-fits all diets, the alkalizing diet is probably not the one and only best diet for human health.
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